Democrats Split: Abolish or Reform ICE?

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Democrats approved conflicting messages on Saturday about the future of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), exposing a sharp divide within the party just months before the midterm elections. The Democratic National Committee (DNC), meeting in Austin, passed one resolution calling for “concrete reforms” of the agency and another demanding its complete abolition. The votes are not binding and do not set the party’s official platform, which will be finalized at the 2028 convention. Still, they show the party’s struggle to find a unified response to President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. ICE has become a rallying point for progressives since 2018, and calls to abolish it have grown louder after two fatal shootings by the agency in July. Michele Johnson, a DNC member from Louisiana who proposed the abolition measure, said Democrats need to take a clear stance. She pointed to the dissolution of ICE’s predecessor, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, as a precedent. “I think one of the reasons why people are not trusting the party is because we sound so academic,” Johnson said. “We sound focus group tested, we sound poll tested because we’re worried about saying the wrong thing or doing the wrong thing and not just like, just stand on business, like take a position.” Not all members agreed. Yvonne Reeves-Chong voted against the measure, arguing it would energize one part of the party’s base while alienating another. “I would strongly suggest we get to the business of winning races so we can make the policies that make a difference,” she said. DNC Chairman Ken Martin, whose home state of Minnesota saw two fatal shootings linked to the immigration crackdown, said the real message is that Democrats reject the administration’s handling of immigration. “Clearly, the one thing that unites Democrats, regardless of their position on reform versus abolish or whatever other ways to change what’s happening, is people believe that what ICE is doing right now — and CBP and the federal government — should stop,” Martin said. “There has to be a better way.” Immigration remains a top issue for voters. A recent poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that only 39% of U.S. adults approve of Trump’s performance on immigration, down from 49% at the start of his second term. This comes after three people were killed in encounters with ICE in under a week in July.